Attachment for trimming the treads of wheels



Jan. 5, 1954 D. A. KELLY ATTACHMENT FOR TRIMMING THE] TREADS GF WHEELS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 5, 1952 "M 8 ,4 mun /8 DA NIEL ALLCOTT KELLY W 4/ fly? ATTORN Jan. 5, 1954 A, K L

ATTACHMENT FOR TRIMMING THE TREADS OF WHEELS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 5, 1952 ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 5, 1954 UNITED STATES PATEN T OFFICE ATTACHMENT FOR TRIMMING THE TREADS OF WHEELS Application J anuary5, 1952, Serial No. 265,109

(Cl. Sir-255) 3 Claims.

This'invention "appertains. to railroads, and more particularly to "means for maintaining the proper'contour of the wear surfaces of wheels of freight and passenger cars, locomotives, etc.', whilethe cars etc; are in service.

In railroading, it is customary, at periodic and stated intervals. to temporarily withdraw locomotives, both steam and diesel, from service, and to give such locomotives a thorough and complete check and overhauling. The active surfaces of Wheels, both treads and flanges, are subjected tovarying conditions of wear and the truing and maintenance of the wheels has causedv great difii'culties and problems to railroads. The :wheels are constantly examined, and their peripheries gauged for uneven'wear, both by the railroads and government inspectors. In many instances, locomotives have to be withdrawn from service on. account of wear or change of proper contour of their treads and flanges, before the locomotive is due for its periodic overhauling, resulting 'in disruption of planned schedules.

It has heretofore been proposed to use grinding or abrasive brake shoes in an effort to maintain or true wheel tread and flange contours. In actual practice, the shoes are only active during brake applications and this fails to effectively grind the wheels. Further, the brake shoes are heavy and expensive to replace.

One of the primary objects of my invention, is to provide means independent of the brake rigging for engaging the periphery of a wheel at the proper place and with a constant, correct pressure for efliciently' grinding oif desired portions of'the tread or flange, as the case may be, to restore proper peripheral contour.

Another salient object of myinvention, is to provideacarrier for detachably receiving a plurality of grinding blocks, the construction of the carrier and blocks being such that any desired combination of blocks can be hadfor grinding. oil" only certain portions of the treadand flange, or for grinding ofi the entire surface of the tread and flange to efficiently restore or true full Wear contourwhere necessary.

A further object of my invention is to provide a carrier in which the grinding blocks can be readily removed and replaced when worn, and for obtaining different combinations of grinding areas and various types of grinding elements, i. e., fine, coarse, etc.

A further importan object .of my invention is grinding or abrasive blocks into engagement 2 with the'wheel, so that the wheel and blocks can move up and down incident to the travel of a:

locomotive, or other car, means beingprovided for adjustably setting the tension of the spring or resilient means, so that the grinding blocks will engage the periphery of the wheel with a desired, selected pressure. 7

Another, further object ofmy invention is the provision of means for holding the grinding surface perfectly square with the flange of the wheel during the movement of the grinding blocks and carrier incident to the movement of awheel.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of means for limiting the downward or inward movement of the carrier and blocks toward the wheel to prevent injury of parts, should the blocks become unduly worn before replacement.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and formation of parts, as will be more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which drawmgs,

Figure 1, is a fragmentary side elevational view of a locomotive truck, with parts thereof broken away and'in section illustrating my novel ri'er' and abrasive blocks, the section being taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 6, is e longitudinal sectional view through the carrier and the grinding blocks, the section Jb'eing'taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure is a transverse sectional view through the carrier, taken on the line l--'l of Figure '6, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure "8, is :a view similar to Figure 6, and

showing a combination of grinding'or abrasive" blocks .for truing the entire periphery of a wheel. Figure 9, is a view similar to Figure 8, but

showing a different arrangement of grinding blocks.

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter A generally indicates my attachment for truing or grinding the periphery of a wheel W, constituting a part of a locomotive truck T.

The locomotive truck T can be of any type now in common usage in railroads, and includes a frame l0, having pedestals The truck T, also carries the brake rigging B.

The wheel W is also of the type now found in common use and can either have an integral rim or a removable rim. The rim includes a tread I2 and a flange I3. The tread |2 and the flange I3 have a definite contour according to railroad and government specifications. If the tread or flange becomes worn or uneven, and out of this specified contour, then it is necessary to true the periphery of the wheel to the specified contour. The periphery can be ground down to a certain limit after which a new wheel is required or a new rim or tire, as the case may be. As heretofore brought out, this invention relates to means for trimming or truing a locomotive wheel to restore desired contour until the wheel has been ground or worn down below the specified limit of rim fitness.

My wheel trimming or truing attachment A is mounted upon a desired part of the wheel truck frame l0, preferably above the pedestal II and the brake rigging B, and includes a U-shaped supporting bracket l4, welded or otherwise secured to the desired part of the frame It). The bracket l4, includes side legs or walls I5, the upper ends of which are connected by a crossbar l6. Rockably mounted on the bracket l4 between the legs I5, is a swinging arm or lever IT. A pivot bolt or pin I8 supports the arm [1 and the pivot pin or bolt extends through slots l9, formed in the legs l of the bracket. The slots l9 allow slight lateral shifting of the arm or lever IT. The outer end of the arm has welded, or otherwise secured thereto, the carrier for a plurailty of grinding or abrasive blocks 2|. The carrrier 28 can be cast into the desired shape, or as shown, can consist of a top plate 22 having welded at its side edges, depending guide rails or tracks 23. The outer end of the carrier also has welded or otherwise fastened thereto and to the side tracks 23, an end bar 24, for a purpose, which will also appear. Intermediate rails or tracks 25 are welded, or otherwise fastened to the lower surface of the plate 22.

The abrasive blocks 2| are freely removable from the carrier 20 and their upper ends are provided with ribs 26 for sliding engagement with the tracks or rails 23 and 25. By referring to Figure 5, it can be seen that the blocks can bev arranged in two longitudinal rows, and in any number of transverse rows of two blocks each, up to four rows. However, the number of longitudinal and transverse rows can be increased or decreased, as may be desired. The transverse rows of the blocks are preferably held slightly apart by spacer bars 21, which are also slid in the rails or tracks 23 and 25. In actual practice, a wheel is examined to determine the portions that have worn and blocks 2| are arranged in thecarrier in the desired pattern to trim off the periphery of the wheel at the worn portion to restore the contour. As shown in Figure 8, the block arrangement can be such that the entire periphery of a wheel, including the tread and flange, can be ground. Obviously, block arrangements can be had to only grind the tread or a portion thereof, or the flange. Where only a certain number of blocks are used, filler plates 28 can be utilized to fill a space normally occupied by a grinding block. It is to be also understood that the abrasive blocks can be of various, selected characters, i. e., fine, coarse, etc.

The grinding blocks and the spacer bars 21 and the filler plates 28, as the case may be, can be detachably held in the carrier 2|), in any preferred way. As illustrated, a follower cross-bar 29 is placed atthe end of the carrier remote from the end bar 24 and this follower bar 29, is provided with pusher lugs 30 for engaging against end abrasive blocks. The side rails or tracks 23 have formed thereon laterally extending ears 3|. Bolts 32 extend through the ends of the pusher bar 29 and the ears 3|, and by adjusting the bolts, the pusher bar or its lugs 30 can be brought into tight contact with adjacent abrasive blocks 2|, so as to force the opposite end abrasive blocks against the end bar 24. By removing the pusher bar 29, the blocks or desired block, or blocks, can be removed.

One of the important features of the invention is the provision of means for resiliency urging the carrier 28 and the abrasive blocks 2| toward the periphery of the wheel, and to accomplish this, I provide a spring 33 built up of a series of leaves. The leaves are firmly held together by clamping plates 34 and 35. Suitable bolts 36 extend through the plates 34 and and through the leaves of the spring 33. The inner end of the spring is rockably mounted upon a pivot pin 38 carried by the legs |5 of the bracket I l. The outer end of the spring 33 bears against a rounded bearing bar 39 rigidly attached to the upper surface of the arm or lever adjacent to its outer end.

Suitable means is provided to hold the spring 33 down against the carrier 20 with the desired pressure. As illustrated, a machine screw 40 is threaded through the cross-bar [6 of the bracket I4, and by turning this screw down different distances against the spring 33, or its clamping plate 34, the spring can be held with selected As the abrasive blocks become worn, the same are replaced with new blocks, and if the blocks become unduly worn before replacement, means is provided for limiting the downward swinging movement of the carrier 20 and the arm or lever This toward the periphery of the wheel. means may merely consist of a set screw 4|, car'- ried by a cross-plate 42, welded or otherwise se- The setscrew 4| can be adjusted toward or away fromcured to the base of the bracket I4.

the arm or lever l1, and can be held in its adjusted position by a second set screw 43, also threaded into the member 42.

While I have brought out that the device is particularly adaptable for truing locomotive wheels, it is to be understood that the device is also adaptable for trimming the wheels of freight and passengers cars, and the like.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that I have provided an effective attachment independent of the brake rigging for truing the periphery of locomotive wheels of a type found in common use and that with the attachment any desired combination of abrasive blocks can be had for trimming off only portions of the tread or flange of a wheel.

Changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit or the scope of this invention, but what I claim as new is:

1. An attachment for trimming and truing the periphery of a car wheel While the car is in motion and the wheel is rotating comprising a bracket adapted to be secured to a car truck adjacent to a car wheel, an arm pivotally secured to the bracket, a carrier on the outer end of said arm, a plurality of abrasive blocks detachably mounted in the carrier, spring means carried by the bracket engaging the arm normally urging the carrier and the blocks toward the periphery of a Wheel, and means adjustably carried by the bracket engaging said spring means for increasing and decreasing the tension of the spring according to the adjustment of said last named means.

2. An attachment for trimming and truing the periphery of a car wheel as defined in claim 1, and means on said bracket disposed in opposing relation to the adjustable means for tensioning the spring and arranged in the path of said arm for limiting the swinging movement of the carrier and blocks toward the wheel.

3. An attachment for trimming and truing the periphery of a car wheel while the car is in motion and the Wheel is rotating comprising a bracket adapted to be secured to a car truck ad jacent to a car wheel, an arm pivotally secured to the bracket, a carrier on the outer end of said arm, a plurality of abrasive blocks detachably mounted in the carrier, a leaf spring pivotally mounted on the bracket above the arm and extending longitudinally of the arm, and means adjustably carried by the bracket and engaging the spring for increasing or decreasing the tension of said spring.

DANIEL ALLCOTT KELLY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 617,584 Leshure Jan. 10, 1899 750,479 McCormick Jan. 26, 1904 1,031,640 Gherky July 2, 1912 1,091,750 Miller Mar. 31, 1914 1,092,026 Dailey et al. 1- Mar. 31, 1914 1,221,211 Pemberton Apr. 3, 1917 1,339,043 Schmidt May 4, 1920 1,500,386 Harris July 8, 1924 1,512,862 Sayre Oct. 21, 1924 1,826,517 Klockner et a1 Oct. 6, 1931 1,896,946 Gauss Feb. '7, 1933 1,924,502 Kincaid Aug. 29, 1933 1,967,835 McWhirter July 24, 1934 1,999,418 McWhirter Apr. 30, 1935 2,059,590 Leonhauser Nov. 3, 1936 2,280,767 Ferragano Apr. 21, 1942 

